A man who sent his ex-partner vile abusive messages when she refused to take him back has walked free from court.

Brad Green turned up at the woman’s home and scratched the word ‘slut’ into the rear door when he couldn’t persuade her to let him in and verbally abused her.

The 34-year-old became enraged when his former partner struck up a friendship with his former boss, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Paul Abrahams, prosecuting, said Green had slammed his front door onto the ankle of a police officer when they tried to arrest him before he started flailing his arms around, hitting him in the face.

The court heard how officers were forced to use CS gas to enable them to arrest the highly-agitated defendant.

He said in one of the messages, the defendant called her a ‘whore’ and the woman was left feeling ‘petrified’ when he turned up at her door unannounced and trying to get in.

Green, of Belmont Avenue, Billingham, pleaded guilty to stalking, assault an emergency worker, criminal damage, and malicious communications in August and September last year.

Michele Turner, mitigating, said they had been in a relationship for seven years but had know each other for much longer and he described her as his ‘rock’.

She said: “She became his carer rather than his partner. He has had the opportunity to reflect on his behaviour and his remorse is genuine.”

Judge Richard Bennett sentenced Green to 33 weeks in custody suspended for two years.

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He said: “You separated in the summer of 2023 after you had a turbulent relationship and in what she described you as controlling her.

“You didn’t accept that that was the end of your relationship.”

Green was ordered to attend 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days, carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and was placed on a trail monitoring tag for six months.

He was also made subject of a ten-year restraining order to protect his former partner.